


A Thousand Ways to Live

by Alucardchick101



Category: Naruto, One Piece
Genre: Other
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-07-03
Updated: 2018-07-03
Packaged: 2019-06-01 15:12:36
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 12,609
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15145877
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Alucardchick101/pseuds/Alucardchick101
Summary: Ace thought his last moment was going to be at Marineford with his killer being Akainu. But secrets come out of the shadows and revelations bring about more confusion. Why is Luffy and Ace calling some stranger tou-san? And why the hell do people keep appearing out of thin air?





	1. Collecting Brats

**Author's Note:**

> First time using this website, I usually use fanfiction or Wattpad. Story is a little rocky at first.

Akainu was disgusted with the duo before him. His natural repulsion against pirates didn't hold a flame to what he felt in that moment. The pirate King, Gold Rodger, Dragon the Revolutionary; these two men's sons being step-brothers was too frightening of a thought to bare in mind. How could he pass the golden chance of getting rid of both boys at once? He didn't have to search the seas nor file ridiculous amounts of paperwork just to find one of them; they had presented themselves on a platter before him and it was too good to be true.

"Your fate has been decided!" Akainu shouted as he clenched his fists. "Regardless of who else gets away, I swear to never let you two escape!" He paused as he looked at Ace's slumped form and Luffy's a few metres away. "Now take a good look..."

"Wait!" Ace looked up quickly as Akainu leaped pasted him with surprising speed. Maybe it would have been best that everyone had left him to be executed... Whitebeard wouldn't have to be left behind by his crew and Luffy wouldn't be down on his knees with a admiral heading straight for him. "Luffy!" His body moved before he even realized what he was doing. The panic that filled his chest made him feel like he was drowning as he made his way across the distance. Luffy was too busy trying to pick up that dam vivre card to take notice of his surroundings. He wanted to yell out to his idiot little brother again, but his throat seemed to collapse in on itself. Ace held his breath as he jumped in front of the Strawhat Captain using his back as a shield, fully aware of what danger he was putting himself in. At the moment, anything seemed worth it as long as his little brother made it out of this alive. His heart was too loud in his chest for him to notice the silence that had covered the battlefield and for a moment Luffy forgot to breathe. A moments breath passed by, followed by the next... and the one after that... Ace opened his eyes, he didn't remember closing them, but that was besides the point. Where was the burning pain? There was no way it would take the admiral that long to...

"Who the hell are you?!" Akainu's angry shout echoed across the stillness of the battlefield. Luffy's terrified wide-eyed gaze was all Ace could see as his body trembled. Although Ace's body failed to respond to his commands of moving to see the situation behind him, he was still able to take notice that dam vivre card was carelessly trapped between his brothers fingers. His moment of shock was placed with a flare of anger; that dam card nearly costed him his little brothers life! "Luffy, you idiot! Do you not have enough fuc-" Whatever he was gonna say was cut off when a hand landed heavily on his shoulder, the firm grip and unexpectedness of it all caused Ace to flinch, but the anger he felt quickly turned on the other person. "What the hell do yo-..." Once more he cut himself off, the words quite literally dying on his tongue as it suddenly felt like he had swallowed sand. The past few days events finally seemed to catch up to the older raven-haired boy as his body slumped in exhaustion, falling forward onto his little brothers shoulder.

"Gaki, take your brother and leave."

Marco watched with wide eyes as Luffy all but dragged Ace towards the ship of Whitebeards as if his previous injuries was nothing but a memory. The rattling of his sea-prism stone handcuffs broke the blonde out of his trance, "Hurry up and get these things off." His fellow crew mates tugged at the last cuff completely ignoring how the stone bit into the mans wrists forming nasty cuts. Marco opened his mouth, ready to tell the men to just yank it off as hard as they could, but he didn't get the chance as a sudden gust of wind sent them flying backwards. The automatic reaction to close his eyes didn't allow Marco to see just who had attacked them so when he hit the rough boards of his captains ship, he was more than a little confused. Who would form an attack that would send him back to his ship?

"Oi, what the hell was that?!"

Marco glanced over to see his crew mates that had been spread across the field just moments prior. Someone had helped them get back to the safety of their ship... But no one that Marco knew of had the power to sweep so many people back with just a gust of wind... was there some type of wind devil fruit? A grunt brought Marco out of his thoughts as he sat up to see Whitebeard laying against the main mast, his bloody chest had strange scribbles painted across his skin but he looked virtually well. "Pops? What's going on?" The man kept his eyes closed. Just when Marco thought the old man had passed away or went to sleep, he got answered.

"Has everyone boarded?"

Marco blinked as he looked around the ship, he really didn't see anyone missing, but then again his mind wasn't exactly the best at the moment. He checked over the other ships, and he saw a good amount of pirates aboard. "It looks like it."

Luffy dropped Ace like a sac of potatoes on the deck with a obnoxious thud a few feet away from Whitebeard. Ace only let out a breathy groan as the rubber Captain fell onto his back, his muscles tensing painfully at the unexpected weight.

"Ace! Luffy-san!" Marco went to stand up but the seastone had drained too much of his energy; the sounds of screams reached his ears as he landed on his knees. Everyone turned their attention towards the battlefield, expecting to see enraged marines racing towards the ships with their weapons, but what greeted them was far worse.

A two-hundred metre dark orange fox towered over everything like a massive ominous cloud; The creatures nine massive tails waved in the air as they each took a sweep across the ground, ripping the earth up like it was made of water. For a good twenty seconds, Marco was certain he had stopped breathing. Where the hell did that thing come from?

Whitebeard's only reaction was to raise an eyebrow at the beast, "Set sail immediately."

The way the crew rushed around the ship would have made a stranger think that there was a fire lit behind them. Within minutes, the ship was moving out towards the sea. Everyone watched from the safety of the deck as the mysterious fox-like creature continued to destroy whatever got within its way before it disappeared in a red flash as if it had never existed; the only evidence left behind was the destruction the beast had caused to the marine forces and island.

Ace and Luffy had seated themselves beside each other near the main mast where a few men attempted to check up on Pops, but were hesitant due to the unknown symbols covering his body. Luffy was surprisingly quiet and scarily still, but Ace was in the same position; Marco was certain it had nothing to do with the near death experience that just transpired.

Multiple thumps caused everyone to jump, being on the edge of their seats due to awaiting for marines to make chase. "Ow, get off me!" A dog pile had been formed on the deck consisting of a green-haired swordsman, a orange-haired woman, and several other unknown people that Marco didn't even want to try to put a name to. He wasn't going to start questioning where and how these people kept appearing. "What the hell is going on? Get off of me, you shitty cook!"

Luffy seemed to brighten up at the sudden change in events as a massive grin took over his face. "Oi, you guys! You're okay!" Luffy would have gotten up but he doubted his legs would allow him that ability; Getting separated at Impel down was something that Luffy didn't want to happen again anytime soon. "C'ptin? Where the hell are we?" Zoro detangled his legs from Sanji's as he adjusted his swords.

"You're aboard Whitebeards ship."

Luffy might as well have been smacked in the face with a dead fish as his smile dropped from his lips like the very action was a sin. Zoro placed his hand gently on the hilt of his sword at seeing the reaction of his Captain. He had never seen the idiotic ravenette change moods so quickly; it didn't help that the exhausted look on his face signaled some type of battle had just took place not too long ago. Luffy seemed to sink back into the wood work of the ship like he wanted the boards to swallow him whole and never let him go. Ace held a similar manner as he slumped over as far as he could, pulling his knees up to his chest as if that very act would protect him from any and all harm. The way the brothers responded to the voice had the both crews on alert.

Just like the strange phenomenon that had been happening for the passed couple of minutes, another person had randomly appeared onboard the ship. However, this man was not dressed like a pirate nor any marine as he wore black baggy cargo pants with the shins wrapped up with bandages and strange dark colored boots. A long sleeve dark blue shirt cut off at his mid-forearms and a dull green flak halfway zipped vest laid over the top of it. The man wasn't armed with any weapons, but he did possess strange tattoos not unlike the lines that cover Whitebeards chest.

The stranger completely ignored the wary looks of the pirates as he made his way across the deck as if he was walking through as if he owned the place. Marco bit his tongue as he followed the general direction in which the man was walking... straight towards Whitebeard. "Oi, stay away from pops!" He leaned forward as he pulled on the chain of his cuffs. Maybe if he could get them off, he could actually be of some use seeing as Ace looked like he wasn't willing to even bat an eyelash. It seemed yelling at the man didn't work, as he only continued his stride.

The man knelt down beside Whitebeard leaving his back turned entirely to the crew. His hands seemed to emit a soft green as he placed them over the top of Whitebeards chest whose body seemed to go slack against the mast. "How are you holding up, kuchihige?" Whitebeard chuckled as he opened his eyes watching in interest as his skin slowly stitched itself together as if it had a mind of its own. He wasn't about to question what the man was exactly doing, as it started to take away some of the edge from the pain.

"I don't know who you are, brat." Whitebeard started as he pushed his body up a little so he could set up straighter, "But thank you for saving my crew, they are like my children."

The man only nodded as his icy blue eyes stayed on task, pulling his hands away after delivering a soft poke to the middle of the design that crawled across Whitebeards chest; the small action caused the design to shrink in on itself until it was the size of a orange just above the mans heart. At Whitebeards questioning look, the man gave a small smile, "It is a seal that I placed on you back in the battlefield, I originally placed it to halt any internal bleeding and as a pain-killer. Now that I have been able to heal the injuries you received in battle, I find that you seem to have a weak respiratory system; I am going to leave the seal on so you won't have to deal with being hooked up to machines all the time."

Whitebeard narrowed his eyes. Saving his crew was one thing, but to give him a 'seal' that improves his health? Being in the New World and titled as a pirate, no one would even think about being this generous, unless there was a motive. "What's your angle, young man?" The tone that usually scared everyone sh!tless just grazed over the top of the stranger as he stood up, his pale blue eyes immediately locking on to the two brothers a few feet away. Whitebeard tensed as he followed the man's gaze. Now that Ace's identity had been revealed as the son of Gold D. Roger, this man could have caught wind of it; including the revelation of Ace and Luffy being brothers. The reward would be too big for just anyone to pass up...

"Just as you had to save your crew, I had to get my brats."

Zoro frowned as he looked at the stranger, he couldn't have been pass twenty. With bright blonde shoulder length spikey hair, three scars across each cheek, and the palest blue eyes, no one on the ship held any similarities. There was no children on the ship, but the man didn't look old enough to have any kids anyway. What brats?

"Speaking of which," The blonde turned on his heel swiftly before gliding across to Luffy and Ace. "You have a minute..."

Zoro and Marco casted each other a glance. What happened after a minute? No other ships besides Whitebeards crew were sailing anywhere in sight, so it couldn't be an attack by another ship. Maybe it meant he would attack, but why? He was pathetically outnumbered even though over half of Whitebeards crew was injured and exhausted.

Luffy shifted uncomfortably. "W-well... Ace was about to executed..." He averted his eyes to the side once he saw the narrowing of blue eyes. "So I had to go get him..."

Ace didn't need to look up from his curled up position, he could feel those piercing blue eyes on him. He would have laughed at how low Luffy's tone was and his pathetic explaination, had it not been for the fact that he himself was in the same boat. What was he suppose to say? Explain how his dumbass of a brother almost got himself killed over a vivre card?

"Blackbeard killed one of my crewmates so... when I went after him... I ended up being captured by the marines." That was all he could possibly think of to say. He looked up at the end, seeing scarily calm expression greeting him. There was a small period of silence that felt like an eternity to Ace, and even longer to Luffy.

"So let me get this straight, Gaki." Ace swallowed thickly. "You ran after a murder whom you know that is not trustworthy, all by yourself. You get arrested by marines, failing to activate any of the seals I gave you, and are sentenced to public execution." Ace was certain that there wasn't anyone who could make the situation sound ten times worse than what it really was. Ace felt like an idiot... how did he not remember the seals? Because that would have been more than helpful in a lot of situations.

"And you, Gaki," Luffy didn't have to be a genius to know that it was him being addressed, "Run recklessly across a battlefield, and knowing you, without a plan against the government that holds a army of marines and several devil fruits users that have no qualms with killing. Lets add to the fact that said government was holding your brother under arrest with several captains surrounding him on the stand."

Yeah, there was nobody that could make any situation sound worse than what it truly was than this man.

Zoro winced at the brief summary, whoever this man was, he knew how to get Luffy and Ace to coward like wet kittens. Since when did obnoxiously loud Luffy decide to cower in a corner?

"Sorry, tou-san."

.

.

.

The whole ship seemed to freeze in place for a moment. Tou-san? As in.. Father? Zoro felt his mind grind to a halt as he tried to process just what was going on. He knew for a fact that the blonde was not the father of Ace or Luffy. It seemed he wasn't the only one extremely confused and surprised because the crew took that moment to yell a perfectly in sync: "What?!"

Luffy gave a small grin as if he suddenly thought of something, "At least we got you to come out, ya hermit!" He laughed and the tension it broke had Ace joining in with the younger boy. It was kinda funny because it was so true; the man was like a hermit, staying in solitude for long periods of time, unless he decided to gather information then he stuck to the shadows. Marco expected the man to crack a smile or laugh along, but was horribly proven wrong when he raiseddd his fist and brought it down on Luffys unsuspecting head. Marco and Sanji winced at the loud this that echoes in their ears.

"O-ow, oww! Take a joke, old man!" Luffy protected his head with his forearms as Ace quickly toned down his laughter at seeing the result of his brothers joke. He was well aware of just how 'soft' those hits were and he would rather New punches by Akainu's lava fist any day than to endure his tou-sans.

Nami blinked as the blonde man that seemed so close with her Captain sudden had a twin standing beside him with a poof of smoke; same clothes, same hair color, skin tone... Everything was matched perfectly matched.

"Bring me Blackbeard."

Whitebeard steadily pushed himself to his feet, feeling slightly lightheaded but overall great considering minutes prior he had two fist sizes holes in his chest. "What is your name, kid?"

The creepy twin of the blonde disappeared within thin air as if he never existed in the first place. Nami shivered as she looked around, half-expecting him to reappear behind her.

"Names Naruto Uzumaki Namikaze. You can call me Naruto, though."


	2. A witch and traitor

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Black beard arrives

Zoro grimaced as he watched Sanji's sad attempts to flirt with Robin and Nami as he delivered them specially made food filled with the blondes 'ever growing love'. He failed to see Sanji ever actually get married and have kids with how much of a creepier he managed to make himself out to be; not like any of the crew would have a chance to live peaceful lives after their reputation of being pirates. Zoro didn't see a problem with the status. He didn't want to 'settle down' and have kids, he had already seen how some kids managed to be total brats and he wasn't about to screw up the next generation by deciding he wanted to be a father. He knew he would be the one person to end up having the bratty-est kid out of anyone he ever knew; and to save a child's life and his gray hairs, he decided to keep to himself when it came to being romantic with females.

He glanced over at his Captain who was still scarily subdued, especially considering the raven haired boy had a plate stacked full with various meats and vegetables. Luffy had taken to softly poking his food with a fork, something Zoro was certain he had never seen the boy use before, before taking small bite sized bites. The boisterous laughter that normally came from Luffy was nonexistent as he kept his body as small as possible within his seat. Zoro rolled his eyes. He could only assume that the boys weird behavior was due to the strange blond that sat just off to the side of Ace and Luffy. He really didn't know how to feel about the blonde, but he knew it was safest to have a healthy amount of caution. Besides, if the rambunctious straw-hat boy hadn't showed the signs of the light haired man being a danger... Zoro rested his wrist lazily on one of his swords as he raised his bottle of sake to his lips.

White Beard had settled himself off to the left of the mysterious blonde nursing a large mug of sake as he scanned his crew with serene yellowed eyes. Despite having two fist sized holes within his chest just three hours ago, he felt like he had been given a energizer drink of some kind that made him feel giddy... it was either the voo-doo trick Naruto pulled off, the happiness of his crew surviving,... or possibly, the sake that was coursing through his veins; but he found he didn't care, he liked the feeling.

"How did you find my crew?" Luffy didn't look up from his fork in his hand as he stabbed his food, and it seemed that he didn't have to cause blue eyes glided over to the rubber-boys form. "Wait, how did you know that me and Ace was at Marine-Ford?! Where you there at Marine-Ford the whole time?! What-" Typically Luffy's rambling had to be waited out in order to get a word in... or just hand him meat and he would keep quite long enough for the person to get a few words in. The Straw-Hat crew was already acquainted with the ways of their captain after so long of traveling with him and, despite how annoying he got sometimes, they didn't wish to change him in any form. The whole Straw-Hat crew was the ones to grow silent when they heard the abrupt cut off, focusing all their attention on to him to make sure the boy was okay; which he was fine from what they could see... but he didn't have meat stuffed in his cheeks.

Naruto had simply raised his hand as if waiting to catch a ball. Robin's lips twisted downwards; surely that wasn't the only reason Luffy went mute.

Ace shoved a fork-full of mashed-potatoes into his mouth trying to train his focus on his food and not the heavy presence of the man beside him that he looked up to as a father... no, that word didn't fit quite right. He didn't know a word to describe their relationship... father seemed too small of a word. Was there a word that he could use that held a higher mantel than just a dad? Ace furrowed his eyebrows. He needed a word that had father, mentor, friend, and confidant... he didn't think there was such a word that had it all wrapped in one. Despite the struggle of not knowing the exact title to their relationship, Ace always strived to have the icy blues look at him in pride and not disappointment, even when it came to the simplest of things. Screwing up something was unforgivable for himself. And through all the hard work he put in to everything, he had to admit he really didn't have to worry that much about getting a look of disappointment from the blonde; he had never received such a look in all his life from the man... Luffy hadn't gotten it either. It may be silly, but Ace knew there was going to be some point in time he would get the look, and he honestly feared the day it would happen. It was one of the many reasons he pushed himself so hard in everything; one slip up and the blonde could leave without batting an eyelash. He was determined to not ruin anything for himself or his little brother...

But reflecting back, Ace winced as he went over the passed few days within his head. Maybe this would be the 'slip up' that he had been waiting for to come along.

"Shooting off questions doesn't get them answered faster, Gaki." His tone wasn't stern like Robin was expecting it to be, but it also didn't sound like he was necessarily babying Luffy. "Did you boys really think that I was going to just leave without having both of you under supervision?"

Ace felt his mouth go dry as chalk as Luffy scrunched his nose up, mulling over Naruto's words. Supervision? It wasn't a complete forgein concept to either of them, but how..

"You've been watching after us since the day you left..." Ace muttered as he suddenly felt uncomfortable with the thought. Dear Kami, he hoped he was considered decent in the blondes eyes because he suddenly couldn't recall half of his memories from his travels. Oh, and all those dine-n-dashes... he knew for a fact that Naruto didn't support that.

Luffy squinted his eyes to the point that Chopper worried that the dark haired boy may be doing more damage to his head than anything. "..Using your clones..."

White Beard closed his eyes feeling like this was meant for a more private area than the deck. However, it didn't stop him from listening in on the conversation to become a little more informed on the situation at hand. After all, knowledge was a form of power and there is never such a thing as having too much of the stuff. From what he had gathered already, Naruto already had some ability to heal, create clones, and making seals. But he wasn't certain if the seals and being able to heal was cast under the same category; both linked to improving his health... The clones must have been what he did earlier when he heard of Black Beard.

"I have been looking after both of you to make sure you didn't do something to get yourselves killed. I couldn't be in four different places at once, so I had my clones shadow your movements. Whenever something drastic happened, my clones would alert me or, if bad enough, interfere." Naruto took the moment to rest his head against his fist that was propped up with the help of the table. He really didn't want to come across that he didn't trust the boys, he just had a problem with the rest of the worlds decisions that could affect them.

Ace wanted to merge himself with the boards of the ship in that moment. Those words did nothing to improve his anxiety of the situation, only helped build the pressure laying on top of his shoulders.

Marco shifted at seeing the pale complexion Ace had gained within the last few seconds. Had it not been for the fact that Marco had known the fire-user for as long as he did, he would believe the man to have fallen ill with his strange personalty. "Was that you that-.." Marco paused because he didn't know what to call the force that had 'magically' shoved the crew back onto the ship. "..Pushed the crew back to the ship? Is it a part of the devil fruit you ate? What devil fruit did you eat?"

Naruto gave a soft smile that made Robin and Nami glance at each other. There was no way this man was a pirate. Pirates didn't possess a smile that held such alarming warmth, but this man did. The aura that surrounded the man was so comforting that it immediately put them on edge. Who is this creepier?

"Forgive me if some of you didn't have a safe landing, I wanted to clear the battlefield of all the innocent before I did anything else. I've never ate a devil fruit before-"

"Lying to us isn't going to help anyone. You healed Pops and created a clone of yourself earlier, there is no way you did that without eating a devil fruit." Marco narrowed his eyes as White Beard placed his empty mug down. The smile didn't fade nor disappear as Naruto seem to regard the other blonde with cold blue eyes that went against his aura. Just when the tension couldn't get any higher, Naruto gave a small airy chuckle.

"You're right. There is no reason to lie... That's why i'm not." He held up his free hand up as if to wave off a fly. His skin was tanned and the scars that cut in every direction across his flesh that was proof of hard work, but none of that was what Usopp was focused on. Maybe it was the sip of sake getting to his head, but he couldn't stop focusing on the mans finger tips...

"W-wait~ You have cl-laws..?" He squeaked as his eyes widened. Surely to kami... he had to be seeing things. Zoro raised an eyebrow as he leaned over his half of the table for closer look.

"Don't be ridiculous Usopp. I have seen guys with long nails before." Robin commented as Sanji was wiggling around her like a fool.

"Robin-chan is so understanding!"

Usopp shivered as he shook his head, pointing a shaky hand towards the blonde. "It looks like the dude files his nails with the bones of his enemies! Do you see how sharp those things are?!"

Naruto noticed the curly haired man's panic and his smile grew a little as he watched him fidget like a small child. Once Usopp saw the man's smile grow bigger, he thought he was going to have a heart attack. Why the hell is he smiling? Usopp felt a cold sweat break out across his body as his observation skills helped point out the two fangs on his upper jaw and two smaller ones that sat menacingly on the bottom jaw. First claws and now fangs?! Usopp grabbed his mug and quickly dumped it out causing Zoro to scowl at the wasted alcohol.

Naruto chuckled at the boys antics. He decided to help the teen out as the air around himself shimmered taking away the view of his claws and even his fangs. He had never seen anyone have a issue with his fangs and claws, it was one of the reasons he didn't bother hiding them.

"What the hell is your problem, Usopp? I don't see anything." Zoro grumbled as he observed the blondes fingertips where short clipped nails resided. What did it matter anyway if the man had sharp nails?

Usopp scowled over at the green haired man as he jerked his thumb towards the blonde, being carefully not to put his hand too close to the creepy man. "How the fuck do you not?! Look-" He trailed off as he glanced over at Naruto to see the claws and fangs were gone. The fear that was coursing through his veins just seconds ago worked double time as Usopp jumped away from the table. "'is a fucking witch!" He whispered violently as he used his fingers to form a poorly made cross.

"Oi, Tou-san, stop scaring my nakama." Luffy let out a whine as he simultaneously shoved a large piece of meat into his mouth successfully smearing barbecue sauce across his cheeks.

"I'm not trying to, gaki." Naruto rubbed the back of his head with a small sigh. It seemed either way he went, Usopp was going to freak out. "I thought putting up a genjutsu would make him more comfortable, but it seems I was wrong."

Marco raised an eyebrow at Naruto, "Genjutsu?"

Ace sighed as rubbed his eyes. Growing up with his 'Father' around, he already knew of all the shinobi techniques that the blonde had learned. It had taken awhile to convince the man to tell him and his brothers about jutsus and chakra; along with the new information, Naruto told them of his past. And despite how ridiculous it all sounded, Ace couldn't call the man a liar. Something about the way he talked about shinobis and Kohona was what made it real in Ace's eyes. It was from then on that Ace couldn't feel any prouder of his father.

"It's an illusion his people taught him. The village-" Ace didn't get the chance to finish his sentence as Luffy bounced in his seat like a rabbit.

"My Tou-san is a ninja! He has really awesome powers where he can do all kinds of things! He even-"

Ace hit his brother in the back of the head with a scowl. "Oi, I was talking!"

Luffy scrunched up his nose as elbowed his brother in the ribs, "No, I was!"

White Beard watched as the two brothers lunged at each other causing plates to be knocked off the table and food fly in all directions. He had never seen Ace this way before, he quite liked it; he was more lively. He looked over at Naruto with a grin as he watched the young man frown at the two brothers; He didn't watching the two boys bicker like kinder-gardeners. Naruto reached out towards Ace and Luffy's heads, giving them each a hard flick with his ring finger. White Beard expected the boys to hold their heads and stop arguing but it wasn't what happened at all. Ace went flying into the railing that barely managed to stop him from falling overboard while his brother crashed into the mast.

Zoro's sword was out within a millisecond as he placed it against the blondes throat.

"Luffy! Are you okay?" Chopper raced over to the rubber boy who was laying in a heap at the bottom of the mast. His forehead sported a perfectly circular bruise that was slowly gaining more color with each second that passed. Luffy pulled himself up into a sitting position as he rubbed his head. It felt like Nami had shoved him off the Thousand Sunny and he was it by the ship full speed.

"Ow, old man! You didn't have to hit me because of Ace being a idiot!" Luffy whined as he tried to rub away the throbbing in his head, not looking up to see what his first mate was doing.

Ace groaned from where he laid across the railing. He had a matching bruise to his forehead; Surprisingly, it hurt more than the bruise forming across his abdomen. "Shut up, Ototo." Once he was certain that he wasn't going to vomit his stomach contents, he opened his eyes to see the deep dark ocean waves licking up the side of the ship before they would fall back down. If he hadn't ate his devil fruit, he would love the ocean water, it was so calming. Being careful to not push his lower body over the railing, he pulled himself back onto the deck with a relieved sigh.

Ace held his head as he looked over at table. Normally, a flick to the forehead was followed by some reprimand that Luffy never failed to grin at... which usually got him in more trouble. But the reprimand didn't seem to make it through this time like Ace was awaiting for, he wanted the boy to get paid back for blaming the whole thing on him. Luffy seemed to be expecting it as well as they both looked over to where the blonde sat.

"Zoro..." Luffy frowned as he saw the blade too close for comfort at his fathers throat.

Ace felt his skin grow uncomfortably hot as he took in the scene. He realized his father could take good care of himself, but it didn't stop the protective urge to rip the shinobi away from the Marimo as far as possible. Ace felt his throat collapse in on itself as the vision of Akainu's fist heading straight for Luffy replaced Zoro and his father position; he found his feet momentarily frozen to the deck boards. Once more, his body failed to respond to any command Ace tossed towards it.

Luffy didn't seem to have an issue in moving as he launched his arm out towards the swordsman after a small pause. Chopper's eyes widened as he realized just what was about to take place, but he didn't get the chance to move before his captains body was flung towards Zoro with an incredible force... happen just happen to be able to catch a ride due to standing in front of the dark haired boy. "ZORO!" Naruto didn't even have the decency to blink as his son and the small reindeer slammed into the swordsman like a cannon ball causing the three to slam into the cabin with a crash of limbs.

Naruto allowed his lips to upturn slightly as he took in the crew his youngest had acquired through the years. He already knew the extents the members would go through to help Luffy, his clones provided more than enough evidence. But seeing the deviotion first hand to protect his reckless son, from his own 'father' no less, it set off a warm heat into the mans chest. Whether Ace or himself were around, he could trust that Luffy would have the support and protection of the small group; that's one of the reasons he couldn't find it in himself to be angered on any level towards the green haired man. He opened his mouth to explain just that to both the boys since Luffy had Zoro in a choke hold and Ace had a dirty glare across his face like someone had stolen his food, but Naruto didn't get the chance.

"Boss."

Naruto glanced over to see his clone standing at the end of the table accompanied by a big burly man with a scruffy beard and sharp empty black pools for his eyes. He looked like a typical pirate with his gruff appearance and the way he held himself.

Ace grounded his teeth together as he looked over at the new compny and Naruto didn't miss his murderous glare. Well, isn't he just a ball of happiness?

"So you are Marshall D. Teach." It wasn't a question but rather a statement that had the pirate grinning to reveal the gaps of where his teeth once resided.

"Thats Capt'in Black Beard to ya, ya scurvy landlubber!"

Luffy giggled at the strange word as he continued to hold tight to Zoro, not realizing the insult that was attempting to be applied to his father but it didn't fly over Ace's head in the least. Naruto didn't respond with a yell or even try to correct the man, he had other things to do.

"I have heard some stories over my years,Teach." Naruto started as his clone dispelled with a small wisp of smoke , the memories flashing just beneath his eyelids like a old film.

Black Beard scowled at the use of his birth-given name. There was a reason he preferred to go by 'Black Beard' and he didn't appreciate the blond ignoring him.

"I know the type of game you're playing at..." Naruto paused to stand up from his seat at the table as White Beard eyed both men warily. "Ga-"

"If this about that scurvy dog, Thatch, save ye voice for the gallows. I-"

Ace marched forward, ready to shove a fire covered fist down the pirates throat. The bastard didn't have the right to even speak Thatch's name! But the next sentence that slid from Naruto's lips had Ace pausing at the overly sweet tone that sent shivers down Usopp's spine and caused Chopper's fur to stand on end.

"Do you know what people from my village did to men who killed a comrade?"

Marco smirked at the look that crossed Black Beard's face combined with the aura that was emitting from the blonde. The show was only getting started and Marco wasn't about to give up his seat for anyone. Maybe the blonde wasn't so bad after all.


	3. Justice and Illusions

There was very few times that Ace ever saw his father fight; the man's quick silver tongue and sagacious mind was able to put ninety percent of most situations to an end with very little violence on his part. Actually, if Ace was required to count the number of times that he had seen his dad fight... it would be twice: A few hours ago at Marineford, which he regrettably didn't get to watch, and then a couple of years ago against Bluejam. But one thing Ace never doubted was the blondes power. Sure, his father had only displayed his skill in hand-to-hand combat and the only 'ninjutsu' he had ever witnessed was when him, Luffy, and Sabo had demanded to see some of the 'awesome-super-cool-energy-stuff' after Naruto had explained a small portion of where he came from. It was the first time he had seen his father create clones and manipulate small portions of the elements to move lazily around his fingers for a few seconds before they were returned to their natural position. Ace knew that the blonde was holding back using his powers and he couldn't understand why he would hide his strength when he could have the world in the palm of his hand; but he respected Naruto to the extent that he never once questioned him.

But now that Black Beard was only two yards in front of him and standing before everyone, Ace wanted his father to lose his temper on the vile man or something... anything really. By Kami, send a genjutsu or the terrifying fox from earlier... Ace knew that he just wanted the man to suffer. He would prefer for the older mans pain to be caused by his own flames... but his father's wrath seemed like a very good option at the moment. Besides, he knew from years of lecturing that his father was a firm supporter in absolutely no vengeance and for a long time Ace had stuck by the mans lessons... until Thatch was murdered. Revenge couldn't possibly be all that bad when you took into account the reasons behind it, Ace had told himself that during the duration it took for him to hunt down Black Beard. He refused for Thatch's name not to revenged.

Black Beard scrunched his nose up in a sneer as he glared at the blonde, "The hell would I car' what yer village did ta murders?" He had better places to be other than White Beards' disgusting ship deck, especially since it seemed it was all because of lousy little Thatch.

Naruto sighed as he walked forward, each step silent against the creaky boards of the deck. "I'm going to be honest with you, Teach. My hands are not clean of blood, killed a little too many humans to keep score, actually."

Usopp swallowed thickly as he pushed himself behind his Captain and Zoro. He still found it hard to believe that little sweet idiotic ball of sunshine Luffy... was raised by a creepy monstrous blonde. It didn't help that the scary man just admitted he has killed people... several people. Usopp shuddered and it seemed that Zoro shared the same feeling as he placed his hand on the hilt of his swords uncomfortably. Chopper adjusted his hat as he pulled himself up from the floor where he had landed earlier

"With that being said, I don't usually judge a fellow criminal too harshly... if their crime is justifiable. However, you took a man's life simply for power, for your own gain. Despite all that, I wouldn't have even bothered to send a clone out to look for scum if it hadn't been for one thing..."

Teach scowled as the blonde was mere inches from himself and personal space seemed non-existent to the man. He didn't like the poor piss attempt of intimidation the blondie was trying to pull over him. Just when he was about to shove the guy back, Naruto already had his hand wrapped tightly around his throat in a vice-like grip. Black Beard took the instinctive step backwards to escape the mans grip but when his boots was no longer touching the deck, he started to panic because his superhuman-like endurance went down the drain quickly as he struggled to draw in a breath of air.

Marco wanted to smile as he watched the quite large man's face turn a bright red, but the aura the blonde was putting off made the hairs on his neck stand on end. The air around the two shifted for a split second and the change it brought with it had White Beard narrowing his eyes. Luffy frowned as he slipped his arms from his green-haired friend. He hadn't seen this side to his father before and he was quite glad that he had never been subjected to this situation. Ace was openingly grinning as he adjusted his hat on his head; kami, he loved his old man.

Naruto's claws had come back to view and he put them to good use as he allowed them to pressed painfully into the tender skin of the pirates neck, the tiny beads of blood was only a added bonus. Instead of the icy blue orbs that were haunting enough, they had been replaced with intense crimson-slitted eyes that made Teach's mouth go dry. Teach really had wished that it would have ended there, but as his eyes roamed, he discovered more disturbing sights. The two dark orange black-tipped fox ears adorned the blondes head wasn't necessarily threatening until he spotted the pair of dark... was that fucking horns?

The corners of White Beard's mouth tensed as he placed his palms down on the table, ready to take action should it be needed. The intense urge to attack the blonde arose from small portion of fear that echoed throughout his body and he had to physically stop said body from distancing itself from the ma-...strange being; there was no way that Naruto was human. Yeah, the new-comer defiantly wasn't off the radar anytime soon.

"You placed not just one of my sons in harms way, but two." Naruto narrowed his eyes as he raised a single clawed finger, "Give me one dam good reason why I shouldn't kill you. And it better be snappy, kid."

Teach felt his hands tremble as he attempted to summon the darkness that the Yami Yami No Mi fruit gave him. The black smoke-like substance managed to form on either side of his body and a spark of hope filled his being as he pushed his power towards the horned-blonde forcefully... Or that was what was suppose to happen. It seemed his intentions were quite clear to Marco, Ace, and White Beard because they all showed signs of taking action to help out. Naruto was the perfect target considering he was only a few inches away, one of his hands were occupied, and his intention was solely focused on the dark haired pirate. But the dark murky substance crawled around the blonde lingering around his form but never truly making contact.

Naruto held out his free hand as the shadows came like a dog to master, swirling lazily up his tanned arm and matching the black inked seals that was etched into his skin. He heaved a sigh as he dropped Teach to the ground and the man created more than a thud as he landed. "... watered down version..." Naruto muttered as he gazed down at the shadows exploring his arm thinking back to the technique they descended from.

"O-oi, Old man! Did you kill him?!" Luffy called out as he took note that Black Beard hadn't twitched a hair or even made a peep. Luffy felt his hands get clammy at the thought, because while Black Beard was a bad man... he didn't want to bare witness his father figure murdering anyone; it soured the image that Luffy built up for years now. The air around Naruto shimmered once before his more demonic appearance was replaced with the more friendlier and human appearance as he turned his attention towards his youngest."No, merely locked within his own mind with a specially designed genjutsu that my village used for traitors."

Marco pulled himself from the table to peer over the top of the large man with curiosity. From what Ace had mentioned earlier, Marco knew that Genjutsu was a fancy word for illusion. He had to admit that he had never seen anything like it as he watched a mirage of facial expressions flash across Black Beards face before it came to rest on what was only able to be described as raw terror.

"How long will he stay like this?" Marco used the toe of his boot to nudge the downed pirate earning no response. It was almost like he was deaf to the world around him...

The corner of Naruto's mouth twisted as he glanced down at the infamous Black Beard. "To us, he will be under the genjutsu for a few minutes, but to him... its five continuous days and nights."

Zoro shook his shoulder free of Usopp's clinging hands but didn't bother to loosen his grip on his sword. "What the hell kind of illusion last for five days and nights?" Robin sighed as she rested her head into the palm of her hand. She had too long of a day to deal with everything going on; she just wants to sleep by now.

"Torture..." The Uzumaki was barely able to get the word out of his mouth before everyone's faces turned sour. "Its more of mental torture than physical, but people have been known to experience bodily pain due to the attacks inside the mind."

Sanji winced as he bit down on his cigarette; how casual the blonde spoke of torture was more than just unnerving. How could he see torture as simple as that? Pirates did some messed up things that would make Angels have a heart attack; but to torture a stranger for almost getting someone killed? That's inhumane.

"Where did you learn to use that type of illusion?" Nami questioned as she eyed the tiny jewel shard around Naruto's neck. It was a beautiful teal blue adorned with a simple white bead on either side of it; she had never seen anything like that before. Maybe she could try to win that from the man and a good sum of berri by playing some poker. Now there's a thought worth processing.

"I learned that from my village a long time ago from one of my comrades older brother. We were all taught how to perform genjutsus, its just different strength levels. The one Teach is under just so happens to be the same one that trespassing enemies or traitors would be placed under when caught." He waved his hand dismissively as the dark shadows slowly dispersed from his arm. Sanji blew out smoke from his lungs as he removed his cigarette from between his lips. It wasn't as bad for criminals to be placed under... punishable consequences... sometimes.

Luffy grinned as he filed the small pieces of information about his father in the back of his mind to access later; he loved attempting to figure out as much as he possibly could on his father. Naruto didn't talk a lot of his home village much to his and Ace's ire, so Luffy took it upon himself to collect the small clues that his father dropped. Normally, Luffy wouldn't bother to try figuring out anything too complex for his mind that didn't evolve food, but his father was so mysterious on his past that it was worth the headaches caused in the future. Ace, Sabo, and himself had made a game out of finding out information on the blondes past and then they would boast on their findings and share what they could; Sabo usually found out the most.

"What are we going to do with lard ass?" Ace placed his hands inside of his pockets with a hard scowl. He had hoped his father would have done a little more damage, but he guessed that the illusion could be satisfying enough... for the moment.

"Language, Gaki!"

Ace blinked, "What are we going to do with fat ass?"

Why was his father looking at him like that? He corrected himself! Ace raised an eyebrow as his fathers blue eyes burned holes through his being with such an intensity that it made him want to shrink back into a ball.

"I would suggest putting him in a room until he awakes. He just may have a change of mind." Naruto created a clone to carry the said man to wherever White Beard directed him to.

Robin blinked in surprise as she watched one single clone lift a man that was over three-hundred pounds with such ease that it was like he was lifting a bubble. Did his clone have super-human strength? Or did Naruto himself possess the strength and passed it onto his clone? What was the limit to what the blonde could lift?

"We need to get back to the Thousand Sunny."Nami muttered as she remembered all the berri she had stashed inside her room; it better be all in the exact spot she left it.

Zoro leaned back against the wall with a frown, "Anyone have any ideas where that would be?"

Silence is what greeted the green-haired man as he looked around at his crew mates; Their blank stares were not reassuring. Zoro scowled as he noticed his 'trusty' Captain merely blink and look around expectantly. Of course, why would he think that his Captain would know the location of the ship?

"Rayleigh and the Rosy Life Riders were watching the Thousand Sunny the last time I checked."

Ace looked over at his father with a sigh, "Let me guess, you have a clone over there too?" He really should have thought about his father sending clones out to keep an eye out on himself and Luffy, but to his defense... when Naruto said he was going to 'go underground with the fossils', Ace took it quite literal.

Naruto didn't even attempt to look sheepish as he gave a curt nod. "I have clones posted throughout the world and once they dispel, I send out new ones. It helps keep me updated on all the things that is taking place. It was the only reason I knew that you were about to be killed; it only made sense that Gaki would idiotically follow wherever you stepped." He nodded over towards Luffy who was back at the table stuffing his face in the classic Luffy-like fashion.

Ace rolled his eyes as he crossed his arms, muttering under his breath in annoyance. He had a feeling the his father was never going to let him live it down that he almost got executed; it didn't help that the blonde made it sound like that it was Ace's fault that his stupid Ototo trailed behind in the attempt to save him. He didn't ask to be saved. Before he had the chance to open his mouth to give a snippy response, he felt his legs be swept out from under his body. Ace tried to untangle his arms from his chest but he wasn't fast enough to catch himself as the back of his head cracked against the boards of the deck. His hat laid forgotten on the deck as he clutched at his pounding head, feeling a knot form on his skull.

"What was that Gaki? My ears aren't what they use to be, kid. Speak up for a old man." Naruto rubbed his left ear as he shifted his weight to favor his right side. Nami frowned as she took in the blondes words. Did he just call himself an old man? The way he spoke was as if he was an... elderly man? But he had to be no older than twenty-seven! Devil Fruit maybe...? No, the blonde had already admitted that he had never ate one. Nami blinked as she realized just how much she used Devil Fruits as a excuse for unnatural occurrences.

"O-Oi, ya old geezer!" Ace cried out as he sat up from the deck floor still rubbing the knot on his head as if that would magically make the lump disappear along with the pain. Why did he keep getting abused? Why hasn't Luffy gotten hit again?! "Do you mind not trying to kill me?! I would love to see tomorrow without seeing through black and blue swollen..." Ace trailed off as he realized the more words he spoke only made his fathers eyes to become harder and more cold. Maybe joking about his death wasn't a good thing to hit yet, still a tender spot apparently.


	4. Pranks and business

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The prankster comes out to play

Naruto watched as Luffy interacted with the different crews aboard the ship; he had sent out clones to retrieve the Heart Pirates.. well, really... he only needed Law, but the rest of the crew had to follow along like little ducklings and Naruto didn't see a problem with It; not like he could turn them away with a cold shoulder. White Beards ship seem to be the place where legends meet due to the numerous pirates that crowded the deck, and like a beacon of some kind, it had drawn in red-haired Shanks and his boisterous crew. The red-haired pirate claimed that he had heard of Luffy running off to save Ace and had to 'check' up on him in person; Luffy was more than happy to talk the man's ears off as he recounted every adventure he could possibly think of that had happened within the amount of time he had last seen Shanks.

Despite asking permission to bring Law aboard, Naruto still felt the need to apologize to White Beard for the over populated deck considering the fact that four crews were just settling down after a three hour party filled with sake. He had a feeling that Whitebeard didn't care, though; taking into account that the said man was drunk off his ass from his contest with Zoro and Shanks. It wasn't clear as to whom had won the contest as they all appeared equally hammered and the furthest from sobriety. Whitebeard was having to rely on the wall of the cabin to hold himself up straight, but it didn't stop his head from rolling side to side with his mouth wide open as he drooled; old man was passed out cold. Zoro laid on his back with a empty bottle of sake clutched tightly to his abdomen, fluttering in and out of consciousness while Shanks...

Well, he had been sitting up but now he had fallen face first with his legs still crossed beneath him Indian style; very... flexible. Despite Shanks strange position and the fact that he was most likely passed out to rid his system of the excessively heavy amount of alcohol, Luffy still rambled on about the battle at MarineFord.

Naruto closed his eyes as he leaned back across the crates stacked against the cabin, it made a comfortable enough bed and the gently rocking of the ship made him feel a little drowsy. It had been a few days since the incident with Teach and it was safe to say that everyone have done a good job of ignoring the blonde shinobi as best as they could; well, the ones that were present during that time, that is to say. If it wasn't for his troublesome brats, he would be back in his 'hermit shell' as Ace called it; dealing with drama wasn't really on his bucket list, that had been checked off a long time ago. He felt his limbs grow heavy as the sun heated his skin. Perhaps being outside wasn't so bad, it was more soothing and peaceful than cold stone walls with only a campfire to provide warmth. It reminded him of his time in Konoha when Kakashi would take the team out on missions and camping was a necessity.

"Oi! Ace!"

Naruto allowed a small puff to escape his lips as Luffy deemed it necessary to scream across the ship for his brother that couldn't be more than a few yards away. Ace had been seated directly in front of the door to the cabin where Teach had stayed holed up ever since he woke up from the genjutsu. Naruto had yet to visit the pirate, he wanted to give it a little more time before he faced the man again; he saw no need to rush things. He didn't get the chance to listen to what Luffy wanted from the fire-user due to his sixth sense giving off a low hum of acknowledgement that someone was staring quite intently at him. It really sucked that he didn't develop his senses when he was in the academy, but he learned through hands-on field missions over time, eventually.

"Why did you call me here?"

He was reluctant to open his eyes, but did so after a few seconds. Law stood a safe distance of a few yards away with his sword Kikoku and what could be considered a frown. Naruto stretched his legs out to rest on a the side of the larger crate in front of him, his arms pillowing the back of his head. He really hadn't planned out how he was going to go about the conversation, seeing as how his reason for even summoning Law wasn't even present. He could beat around the bush with a few dropped hints in hopes that he didn't have to spill the words from his lips directly, but then he remembered how much he had hated that when Jiji, Jiraiya, and Kakashi did that to him. Well, shit.

"I wanted to speak to you about topic you would consider rather important, Law-san." Smoothing it out as easily as he could, he added. "However, I would like to address this later tonight." It was still considered beating around the bush, but he found that in this certain situation, there was no other way he could go about it without seeming like an insensitive asshole or a fucking creeper.

"And you know me how?" Law narrowed his silver eyes warily.

Fuck, creeper it is then.

"I know everyone the Gaki has met, especially the ones he considers friends."

Law raised his eyebrows. Who the hell was 'gaki'? Naruto must have sensed his confusion as he lazily waved his hand towards Luffy who had his arms wrapped several times around Ace's torso as he attempted to pull the older teen away from the door he had been sitting at, awaiting Teach to walk out. Naruto had already forbade him from entering the room, not wanting to deal with any dramatics that would surely happen.

That was another thing that Naruto had to put on his to-do list; talk to the boys about all this revenge drama. He had raised the boys based on his morals that had stuck with him all these years, giving lessons he had learned through his perverted senseis and friends; so he wasn't certain how much his teaching reached their heads. After all, the best way to learn is through experience; Naruto knew that much.

"Oi!"

Naruto watched as Law's eyes twitch at Luffy's loud shout that made everyone look over. Zoro couldn't honestly understand how the blonde man dealt with Luffy's obnoxious volume. Shanks grumbled as he flopped over on his side, his limbs feeling extra heavy as he buried his face into the swordsman side. Zoro raised an eyebrow when he heard the redhead mumble, "Mihawk" quietly. The swordsman grinned widely; oh, the blackmail material was about to come rolling in.

"Old man!" Luffy had snapped his head around to where his father was laying with a pout. "Ace fell asleep! Again!"

Naruto shrugged as he closed his eyes again. "What do you want me to do about it, gaki?" The rubber captain removed his arms from around the older teens chest causing him to fall bonelessly to the deck. Marco winced at the sound Ace's face made when it met the boards; no doubt, going to leave a bruise.

"Wake him up!"

Naruto rolled his eyes as he sat up from his comfortable position on the boxes. Truthfully, he should be use to Luffy's reactions to his brothers narcolepsy after so many years of the fire-user suffering from it; it didn't change the fact that the rubber boy hated it, though. Naruto didn't like his oldest boy having to suffer from it, because it honestly made him worry more than he should. If his narcolepsy ever kicked-in in the middle of a fight… It was another reason to have clones follow the boys. He hopped down off the crates to make the short distance to his two kids. He pulled Luffy away from Ace's sprawled out body so he had room to work.

Law couldn't see what the blonde was doing, but it didn't seem like it was waking the fire-user up anytime soon. Luffy giggled as he slapped a hand over his mouth in a poor attempt at stifling it.

  
Law felt his lips twitch downward in annoyance when the blonde moved back to show his work on the fire-user. Whatever level of maturity he had originally believed the blonde to have, it had been cut into a fourth of that. Luffy busted out laughing as he held his stomach; giving a full display of all his pearly whites. Zoro looked over at his captain's outrageously obnoxious laughter, deadpanning at the sight he saw. Ace had been in the same exact position as he had been earlier, except he was out cold... With some interesting... -designs. Since the last time the swordsman had looked over at the fire-user, he had gained a thick unibrow and thick 'eyeliner' with fake drawn on eyelashes. On the raven haired man's cheeks, the subtle freckles had been used like connect-a-dot to form crood spirals. The 'art' didn't end just there, though. Instead of the thin pale lips, Ace was sporting comically thick voluptuous lips colored in black.

Zoro cringed at the horrible sight. It kinda looked like one of Big Mom's pirates or something. His gaze immediately traveling to his captain; because if being honest, only Luffy could do something this childish. However, the straw-hat was too busy wheezing for air through his fits of giggles that he could barely stand up straight... And he was a fair distance away from his brother. Zoro shifted his attention when he heard a scoff come from his left; Law looked as repulsed as he felt, but he wasn't looking at Luffy. He followed his fellow swordsman's gaze to see Naruto crouched on the railing near Ace's head... A black permanent marker tucked beneath his fingers.

What the hell..? It took a moment for the marimo to process what he was seeing, because… Naruto was just too…. Creepy- or intimidating- to do something as childish as coloring on people's faces… right? Maybe it was a serious case of misjudgement on his part, he had only known the blonde for little more than two days; but his judgement of character was typically spot-on, so he had little reason to doubt it… until now, that is.

Marco couldn't hold back his chuckle that slowly grew into a boisterous laugh that almost rivaled Luffy after getting to vividly inspect his pseudo-brother. It was wonderful pay back, in his mind, for all the times Ace had called him by the wretched 'pineapple'. Now, if he only had a camera, it would be all the more magnificent. He tried to rein in his laughter, because honestly it was starting to make his bruised stomach hurt.

"OI! Ace! Tou-san invited Gramps to train us!"

Law raised an eyebrow when he saw the sleeping man jump up from his spot as if he had been stabbed with a hot poker, his eyes wide as he frantically looked around. It seemed he hadn't got his bearings as he yelled, "No!" and then rambled on how horrible of idea that was, then questioning what Luffy had done to cause Naruto to bestow that type of punishment on both of them; not noticing the snickering crowd and wide smiles.

Zoro blinked as he watched a eerily familiar all-teeth smile stretch across Naruto's face as he watched Ace have a mini-panic attack for all of thirty seconds before the young man realised his surroundings. It was hard to place if Luffy had gained his smile from Naruto, Ace, or Garp himself. Especially since Naruto seemed to have no biological ties to either of the boys. Or maybe, the blonde got it from one of the them.

Marco grinned as he raced into the cabin to fetch a mirror. He wanted to be the first to show the fire-user his new make-up. It was settled in his mind: Uzumaki Naruto was the best. How Ace hadn't even mentioned the man before had him confused; how could you hide someone as awesome as that?! He had to get some information on Ace from the blonde that he could use to his benefit, because how could you possibly pass up the chance to get revenge for all the years of pranks and teasing on his hair?

"You sleep well, gaki?" Naruto slipped his marker into one of the many pockets that was well hidden within the fabric of his pants; one of the many reasons he loved anbu pants. It was a pity that the shinobi dress code had faded out of time, but he wasn't about to give up the shinobi pants in any lifetime. The amount of pockets at his disposal was the most satisfying thing he could think of; however, remembering what he put where was always a reoccurring issue.

"Wha-..y-yeah…?"

Naruto had long since mastered his facade of innocence; it was a requirement for self-proclaimed pranksters. He gave a small smile, trying not to seem suspicious in any form. "That's good. You knocked out pretty quickly there for a moment."

Ace's unibrow wrinkled together as his large lips tipped downwards. The red tint to his swirly cheeks not lost on anyone.

Marco, in his eagerness to get to Ace, tripped over a slightly bowed board in the deck; the deck itself rushing fast towards his face. The idigitant squawk that escaped his lips was embarrassing, but his mind wouldn't process any of it until Ace had the mirror in his hand. The stinging pain in his chin and elbows was nothing compared to the large grin that came acrossed his face at Ace's drawn on expression. Oh, how he wished he had a camera.

"Portgas, you might want to take a look." He didn't give the man a chance to reply as he shoved the small mirror into his hands with high enthusiasm. Ace fumbled with the mirror, feeling a cold sweat break out across his skin. He had a sick feeling within his stomach… he hoped it wasn't what his mind was screaming at him. He looked in the mirror.

There was a dead silence filled with slight anticipation as everyone sober enough to be awake trained their eyes hard on the 2nd division commander. Law was scowling, but the slight gleam in his eye gave him away immediately that it was mostly a facade. Zoro shifted his weight awkwardly when Shanks practically crawled up into his lap, his grip like a vise as he continued muttering under his breath. It was not worth any level of blackmail, anymore. Shanks needed to move. He tried to first remove the red-haired pirates fingers from the sash around his waist, but the more Zoro tried, the harder Shanks clamped down. When he saw the beginning of a thick line of drool coming from the corner of the man's mouth, he immediately tried shove the older man away from his person; but Shanks was like glue.

"Oi, get the 'ell off meh!" It didn't matter how much he squirmed it was undeniable that he was officially stuck under the drunk captain who hadn't even budged at all the movement or yelling from the marimo. What the hell kind of alcohol did this guy get his hands on? No amount of liquor could get this kind of response out of Zoro; sure, he was highly hammered from the drinking contest, but by kami… did he ever respond to alcohol in this manner when he first started drinking? He hoped not. Latching onto someone that was practically a stranger was unacceptable. Using Wado Ichimonji, Zoro slammed it down in between himself and Shanks, before attempting to pry the man off once more. Thank kami that Sanji was in his own form of intoxication from just being around Nami and Robin; he would never let the swordsman live this down.

Naruto casted a glance off to the side at the green and red-haired duo, his smile never fading. He would probably help out the former pirate-hunter after a little while. Just as he started to turned his attention back towards Ace, he saw a blur of an object flying straight towards his face at high speeds. His chakra flared subconsciously at the sight causing him to reappear a few feet away from Luffy who was closer to Ace than the blonde previously was. The seal. Naruto had momentarily forgotten he had given Luffy's hat a seal just like his brothers. He didn't have time to think about that though, as a plume of fire engulfed the area he was standing.

"Old man! How many fucking times do I have to say it?! Stop drawing on my face, you asshole!" Ace shouted as Naruto, with annoying ease, dodged his attack. Naruto's grin grew as he hopped back up onto the railing that overlooked the ocean; it was hard to not laugh with the fire-users face having such ridiculous drawings. The way Naruto seen it, the boy should be happy that he at least hadn't drawn anything inappropriate, this time.

"Mah, Mah. Calm down, gaki. It's all in good fun."

It was. Marco and Luffy's laughter was obnoxiously loud as they used each other to hold themselves up. Law's face cracked into a ill-defined smile as he lowered his white fluffy hat over his silver eyes; his body slightly slumped against the crates that Naruto had occupied earlier. Ace felt his face grow hotter as he glared at the three. He found nothing humorous about drawing on his face. It was one of the few things he couldn't tolerate about his tou-san; the blonde always drew on his face when he fell asleep during the day... or used another 'prank' that was 'all in good fun'. It was hard as fuck to remove the marker because it was always permanent; Luffy never got this treatment. Sure, he got pranks, but it wasn't anything that could stain his skin or anything like that; it was usually confetti popping out of a box, something innocent. Ace remembered vividly as a child that he had woken up with his mattress out in the middle of a lake, duck-taped down spread-eagle. It had taken him an hour and a half of floating to finally get himself free.. then swimming back to shore to make the long cold walk back to the tree house. Oh, you can't forget the marker art all over his body... permanent marker.

"Oi, som'one get 'his drunk off of meh!" Zoro yelled as Shanks had a death grip on him and ichimonji, his drool sliding down the sheath, dangerously close to the marimo's shirt.

Naruto acted as if he hadn't heard him, expecting one of the guys friends to go over and lend a hand. But he blinked when he saw that everyone had basically followed his lead and had turned their heads on the former pirate-hunter. Huh. Maybe the guy did something to deserve that type of punishment. Probably a pervert.


End file.
